There's Your Sweet Spot

Near our home in Hayden there is a parcel of National Forest property that has some nice trails in it. It is thick forest with lots of undergrowth and it is green and pretty. We take Farley the damn dog there just about everyday for a run. You can choose from a variety of trails from 5 miles to under 1 mile. They go through thick shady vegetation and have several dramatic overlooks of Hayden Lake. Few people go there and if we pull up and see other vehicles we are ticked off and put out, although chances are you will never see anyone on the actual trail. The trails themselves are nice and if you want a good workout you can jog or walk it fast, the dogs can run without a leash and covers ten times the mileage. Andy's dogs had a great time there and I'm sure they terrorized the wildlife which includes squirrels, chipmunks, whitetail deer, racoons, black bear and other animals.
After looking at a map I saw that the Forest Service property went right to the lake and was much larger that I first thought. The trails go nowhere near the water so I looked for a place to go down the hill, I followed a small steep deer trail for awhile but this is way too thick of stuff to bushwack for very long, but I stumbled onto an old overgrown road that headed in the direction I wanted to go. I followed it for about a half mile and then found a small trail right to the water. This was an empty stretch of shoreline for as far I could see in either direction (which is rare on the lakes in this area ) I had found the route to some private waterfront. Farley had a great time fetching sticks I threw in the lake and we stayed until the sun starting going down. The hike out is a bit of a leg burner but well worth it. I am glad that the trails stay well away from the lake now and I hope they leave it that way. But if past experience has taught me anything it is that nothing this good can last. I have been back twice already, Boo is going to like it and we can swim and fish. There are several ancient docks that have washed up there and you can go out on them and I can see a lot of small mouth bass and a few pike and trout. I kind of think I like it.